Tears and Gardener

Tears and Gardener

John 20:11-18

What does it say

Mary comes to the tomb after Jesus has risen and is found crying outside the tomb. She sees two angels who interact with her. Jesus shows up, she thinks he’s a gardener, he calls her by name, and she realizes its Jesus! Jesus says to her- you can’t hold onto me, because I am going to heaven, then she goes and tells all the disciples

1. Seek Jesus

• 11 But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb.
• who is this mary?
• Mary Magdalene witnessed most of the events surrounding the crucifixion. She was present at the mock trial of Jesus; she heard Pontius Pilate pronounce the death sentence; and she saw Jesus beaten and humiliated by the crowd. She was one of the women who stood near Jesus during the crucifixion to try to comfort Him. The earliest witness to the resurrection of Jesus, she was sent by Jesus to tell the others (John 20:11-18). Although this is the last mention of her in the Bible, she was probably among the women who gathered with the apostles to await the promised coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14). Read more: https://www.gotquestions.org/Mary-Magdalene.html#ixzz3gpe4PRev
• through extra Biblical texts, movies, and other heretical teaching- some think she married Jesus, she was a prostitute, she was the lady who was almost stoned etc. No scriptural basis for this
• What is clear from this interaction right here- is that Mary loved Jesus as Lord
• Jesus is now Gone, and we find Mary standing by the tomb weeping
• Have you ever wept over someone that you’ve lost? Cried uncontrollably or inconsolably? This its the type of weeping- a weeping of loss or of pain- I’ve cried like that before
• Mary had such a relationship with Jesus that she was emotionally distraught when he was absent

• But this is what I love- Even though she was in pain and was weeping- she still sought out Jesus
• “as she wept she stooped down”
• Through her tears, through her pain, through her emptiness, she found the strength to stoop down and look for Jesus
• Folks even though we are weeping- we must still seek after Jesus
• Many a person, in their peril has used pain as an excuse to not connect with God, when pain is the exact moment that you need to connect with the Savior
• Mary knew this! I’ve got to find my Jesus- I need to be in his presence- I need to SEE HIM
• People lose sight of the Savior when they experience the pain of life
• Loss of a relationship– break up, divorce, end of a friendship
• Death- a loved one dies, a child, a parent, a grandparent, a spouse, a family member
• Experiencing failure- Sometimes you don’t get the job, the house, the car, the vacation, the promotion, the victory, the win etc. Sometimes, you lose- and lose royally
• Depression- weight gain, physical ailments, sickness, injury, job loss, malaise
• Addiction issues drugs, pornography, shopping, eating, etc.
• Folks- we need to be seeking after Jesus daily!
• Paul told the men of Athens- Acts 17:27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;
• God is not far from you! You can seek him and find him! you can experience him in your pain! in your Hurt! in your Fears!
• He is not far from you!
• Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me.
• here’s what happens to Mary- Jesus shows up!

1. Jesus will show up

• 12 And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13 Then they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
• She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.”14 Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, “Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.”
• Before Jesus ever shows his face- Mary is ministered to by two Angelic beings
• These aren’t in her head- this are literal angels- so much so that she has a conversation with them about her heart- She is search for Jesus
• Folks- God will send whatever he needs to send to encourage you in your time of despair
• in this instance- he sent 2 angels to minister to the bereaved
• Not one- but two angels for Mary in this moment “in the mouth of two witnesses let it be established”
• But even in that- Jesus shows up! I’m not exactly sure why he came back- but he comes back to comfort this woman in her time of despair
• The heart of Jesus is always a heart for the despondent- it is a heart of love and of care
• I think its beautiful that Jesus comes back to interact with this woman- this woman
• Don’t tell me that Jesus doesn’t value women- he completely does-
• When God shows up- things happen! (Getting truck stuck in mud- Kasey show up)
• When God showed up at the Red sea He divided the waters
• When God showed up at Jericho the walls came tumbling down
• When the glory of God filled the temple the priest stood in silence before the Lord
• when God showed up in the earlier church they boldly proclaimed the gospel and thousands were saved
• When God showed up during the great awakening revival swept across the land and countless lives were changed
• I believe in a God who still wants to show up and change not only the lives of individual believers but to bring the church into a state of revival, to be a place of hope a place of power and a place were people are changed from the inside out
• Friend- if you are in despair- right now- Call out to Jesus- Call out to his name- call out!
• Psalm 34:18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
• he will SHOW UP every single time- he will arrive with  power and with peace with love and with grace and will minister to you in your time of need!
• But you need to call on him!

1. Esteem Jesus

• Now- when Jesus shows up- and he will- we should esteem him- we should worship hiim-
• we must remember Christs place in our lives- we must never forget who is he is and what he has done for us- I love this interaction- its short- but watch closely-
• 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him, “Rabboni!” (which is to say, Teacher).
• Mary is at the tomb weeping, she’s looking for Jesus, the angels show up, Jesus shows up
• And she sees him and says “Rabboni” which means teacher
• Now many other times in scripture- People refer to Jesus as Rabbi- but here she says Rabboni which is even an MORE esteemed name for a teacher- its more like saying My teacher my Lord!
• Mary is excited that Jesus has shown up, and she exclaims! My Teacher my Lord!
• As I was reflecting on this- I thought- how awesome is this- that in this moment- she esteems him- she lifts him up- she all but worships him at this moment- and gives him a honorable greeting Lord and Teacher!
• Folks- I’m letting you know right now- I don’t prescribe to the “buddy Jesus” Maybe its just the way i was raised
• I call Mom, Dad, Uncle Aunt. When I was in the military I called people by their Rank. When I meet a Dr I call them Dr When I meet and officer I call them Officer. And when I meet Jesus face to face I will call him Lord
• I’m not sure if he’ll require it of me, but I require it of myself. He means that much to me- I want to call him Lord. I want to call him Savior. I want to call him all the beautiful names in the Bible.
• He and I will be hanging out drinking APs on the sea of glass and I’ll say “Alpha and Omega, I’ve got a question for you”
• I still have leaders that led me in the Army that when I see them- I still call them Sergeant even though they are retired and I havent been in the army for 12 years.
• Its not Roy- Its SGT V. Its not Rick Its 1st Sergeant. Its not Neal its COL Trent
• Folks you can become so familiar with Jesus that you forget who he is
• When we worship- we’re worshipping the king of kings and the Lord of lords
• When we listen to the Word we’re listening to God speak
• When we do acts of service we are doing them for the KIng
• And when we talk to him- we should esteem him “hallowed be thy name”
• We’re supposed to esteem Jesus- in how we live, we speak, we act, we work
• 1 Corinthians 3:16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
• Proverbs 3:9 Honor the Lord with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase;
• Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
• 1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;
• We’re supposed to be Lifting up the Name of Jesus for all the world to see!

1. Share Jesus

• We must share what we have seen
• 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’”18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.
• Folks- if what Jesus is doing in your heart isn’t being shared is isn’t getting its full measure
• Mary Experienced Jesus- she saw him alive and went and told the disciples- She couldn’t keep it to herself
• Now- I understand that we live in a different world- people are not that quick to receive the things of God
• but you would be amazed at how people respond when you are willing to be honest about what you believe and why you believe it
• Be willing to share Christian stuff on facebook, twitter, instagram etc
• if you don’t like my stuff- don’t follow me- this is who I am
• I invite everyone I know, meet or interact with to church “where do you go to church”?
• Every person I meet- the first thing I think is “does this person need Jesus”
• Folks- the time is short- we don’t have forever- Jesus is coming soon-
• we have a responsibility to share the love of Jesus and need for the forgiveness of sins
• Luke 24:47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
• Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,[a] for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
• Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
• Can you imagine what our church would look like if everyone in our church shared our faith with everyone that we knew every day?
• A soul winning church- thats what we would look like- a church that changed the city